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S. R. Cranmer (CfA)
The SOHO Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS/SOHO) has measured anisotropic temperatures and differential outflow velocities for hydrogen, oxygen, and magnesium ions in polar coronal holes. Line widths of the O VI 1032, 1037 doublet indicate perpendicular temperatures of at least 200 million K above 2 solar radii. We present theoretical models of the dissipation of high frequency (10 to 10,000 Hz) ion cyclotron resonant Alfvén waves, and we find that it is possible to explain many of the observed kinetic properties of the plasma with relatively small wave amplitudes. There is suggestive evidence that such waves should be generated gradually throughout the wind rather than propagated up from the base of the corona. We also discuss how additional insight into the ion cyclotron resonance interaction can be obtained by considering the process as an analogue of Sobolev-theory radiative transfer.
This work is supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under grant NAG5-3192 to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, by Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, and by the ESA PRODEX program (Swiss contribution).
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http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~scranmer/